Throwing a fête over pearls
MANILA, Philippines - The highly-anticipated gala launch for the spring/summer collection of Jewelmer Joaillerie was held earlier this week featuring bespoke designer pieces by Rhett Eala, Randy Ortiz and Patrice Ramos-Diaz, inspired by Jewelmer’s latest collections. The elegant affair featured performances by world-class performers, like Ballet Philippines’ principal dancer Carissa Adea and junior principal dancer Richardson Yadao, along with Ima Castro, an award-winning recording artist and theater actress who starred in Miss Saigon. The fashion show was accompanied by live music from The Manila Philharmonic Orchestra led by Maestro Rodel Colmenar and saxophonist Jacques Christophe Branellec, who is also the Jewelmer Joaillerie’s brand manager and the son of Jacques Branellec, French perliculture expert and the brand’s managing director. At the sight of all this sophisticated display of culture, YoungStar columnist Toff de Venecia gaped and said, “Everything is so beautiful!”
The fashion show opened with Rhett Eala’s pristine collection of white and cream gowns and cocktail dresses, followed by gowns featuring Jewelmer’s signature cobalt blue and finally, a line of evening dresses in elegant black. This collection, according to Rhett, was created to complement the brand’s floral and nature-inspired collections, like the floral Via Rosa and Dolce Rosa, along with the lush and organic Tropics. “Since the collections by Jewelmer were inspired by nature and flowers, I wanted to respect that. I was inspired by Italian designer Roberto Capucci. Usually I’m known for my work with chiffon, but this time I wanted to work on something more structured, like silk organza, which has more volume,” he says.
Next was Randy Ortiz who opened the show with a collection of fiery red pieces, tempered with nude, black and gray. There was a bit of a Spanish flair to his collection with big, flouncy Flamenco skirts, jumpsuits in matador-fit silhouettes and big, ruffled sleeves. “A play on texture and silhouettes using different treatments of embroidery appliqué cutwork and beadwork on lace piña gazaar tulle with subtle Castilian inspiration, to complement the pearls of Jewelmer” was how Randy described his collection.
Last was Patrice Ramos-Diaz, whose slinky and fluid floor-length gowns, although quite unforgiving on less-than-svelte figures, won instant fans and instant Twitter reactions. Stylist Bang Pineda tweeted a photo of the back detail of one of the gowns, saying “I love the braid details.” According to Patrice, “My collection was simple overall, it was an exercise in restraint to leave room for the jewelry to shine. Dove gray, slate gray and taupe, plus the black and cobalt blue. The gray and taupe was a study in subtle sensuality revealing a bit of skin in different parts of a woman’s body. I played with fluid linear details in lean silhouettes with slits either across the bodice, the chest, or by the armhole. I also added a few pieces in lace to add a little romantic flavor to it.”
For those who weren’t invited to the lavish gala, the fashion show had a live streaming that fans of Jewelmer could follow. Unfortunately, they missed the sumptuous spread by Margarita Fores and the truffles that were handed out after by Shangri-La Hotel Makati. However, whether you were actually there or not, nearly everybody who witnessed the show went to bed that night dreaming of being draped in Jewelmer’s signature golden pearls.
